Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1887-01-10
SEEKING A PARDON.
Their Friends O! alfred Werner IN Ar.
kansas Interesting Themselves
in His Behalf,
He is Serving a Twenty One Years Sen
tones at LtttIe Rock for Brutal Great
ment of q Prisoner.
special to the Gazette.

special to the Gazette.
LITTLE ROCK, ARK, Jan. ct is It.
ported here to-day that petitions for the
pardon of Alfred Werner are being cir
Cuated in several counties in the south
ern part OF the state, and that they are
receiving many signatures. Gov. Hughes
told THE GAZETTE corresp Jndent this
morning that no petition had as yet been
forwarded him When It is received the
case will PROBABLY be carefully reviewed.
from beginning to end, and a Eegativegor
aft rmative decision rendered. q
Werner is now serving q twenty-One-
year term in state prison, having been
convicted Of murder in the second degree
at the autumn term of the il # rson cuun-
ty circuit court, IN 1883. Prior to the
COW ction Werner was overseer of gang
of convicts which were worked on
farm in Desha county. The farm was
also used for county prisoners, the
state laws providing that p isoner fined
for minor offence shall work out the fine
on the county farm. There werea number
of county prisoners under Werner, and
one day their ranks Were recruited by the
addition of man named William Sharpe.
This man was poor but honest. He had
come to the state from Illinois, with the
intention of homesteading land and es-
tablishing hCme. There are thousands
of acres of government land in Desha
county subject to entry under the home
stead act. Sharpe was taken i'll, but par
TALLY recovering he sets out to find work
He was indebted to his landlady for
board, but the understanding was that
ha do Jhar
was earned.
FLOGGED TO DEATH.
A petty constable arrested Sharpe on
the charge of obtaining morey under
false pretences. The officer did this on
his own authority; no one made d COM
plant. The arrest was a gross outrage.
Sharpe was tried before justice of the
peace, who, like the constable, wished to
earn fee, and was fued certain sum
He could not pay and was sent to the
county farm to work out the foe. He
was i'll when he reached the farm, but
was put at work IN the co ton field. He
ftinted from weakness. Werner ordered
two negroes TO fog him with straps
Sharpe tried TO go ahead hut could not
He was again whipped numerically. He
never rose afterWard. The negroes
called Werner. The trio were terrified 10
tind Sharpe dead He had been whipped
to death. de was hastily buried and no
pains spared to hush the matter up.
a ESCAPING A MOB.
ga rumor got abroad, however. There
was q searching investigation, and the
cornoner's inquest decided Werner and
the negroes responsible for Sh.rpe's
death. The county was aroused to high
pitch of excitement when the facts be-
came public. Werner and the two ne
groes fed together. News of their fight |
spread rapidly ;.an men, armed and with |
ropes, started in pursuit. The fugitives |
were pursued for miles, the yells of the
pursuers sounding in their ears like the |
voice of doom. 1t was a horrible chase |
for human prey Reaching the river the |
murdersrs took refuge on
Il steamboat which happened to be at the |
landing. AS the boat steamed into the |
river the mob appeared on the bank. Flu
rious at the escape of Their prey, they
fred volley at the disappearing vessel,
severely woundlng one OF The negroes.
MERITED PUNISHMENT.
Subsequently Werner and his accom-
pieces were arrested, jailed, indicted, and
put on trial. The negroes We're sent up
for life. Wern fought bravely for
liberty. He employed the hes. attorneys
IN the state, and got change of venue
from Desha to Jefferson county. All in
vain. The jury brought in verdict of
murder in the second degree. He was
sentenced to twenty-one yesrs lmprison-
nent; and after g years delay in attempt
ing to secure rev trial, was placed in
state prison. Since lht u his friends have
.sIked of fleeing his release. but have
AIKEN no deduite s'eps to that end
There is little hope of pardon, and
here are those who predict that Werner
WI be logged to death by some petty
,verseer, and thus Sharpe be fully aveng-
ID. Werner just now is employed within
he walls ma Ginu cipars